Jack Darling ready to take charge

The West Coast forward will need to stand up in Josh Kennedy's absence.

The birth of Eagle Jack Darling’s first child was one of the happiest moments of his life — just as he had expected.

But it was also one of the most stressful.

Darling was interstate last year preparing for a game against Gold Coast when his son Max arrived seven weeks early.

Max spent the next three weeks in hospital before doctors decided he was healthy enough to go home. That experience — and fatherhood in general — motivated Darling to sign up as an ambassador for the Sunshine Beach Run for Red Nose.

“(Max) is thriving now,” Darling said. “What ‘Tex’ and other people go through, I don’t wish that on anyone.”

“Tex” is Chris Perkin, a part-time physiotherapist with the West Coast Eagles and the founder of the Sunshine Beach Run.

Mr Perkin lost his wife Cindy in 2009, seven days after she gave birth to their stillborn son Jake.

The ordeal devastated him and left him with more questions than answers.

The father of two channelled his energy into creating an event which would help fund research into infant deaths.

More than 1200 people took part in the seventh annual Sunshine Beach Run at City Beach yesterday.

“When Cindy left hospital she was still sick, but they thought she was in the clear,” Mr Perkin said.

“Obviously it wasn’t so. People who are left with uncertainty, it’s very challenging ... and I guess that’s why money goes into research.”